February 21, 2010

Easy Ruffled T-shirt Scarf

Today was one of those rare, laid-back Sundays. I was even in my Sunday school class before all my little students, which almost never happens! :o)

And since we had no plans after church, I took the opportunity to make this little scarf that popped into my head as I was making lunch.

I intended to make it for myself, but I didn't have quite enough material from these two old, ill-fitting shirts of mine, so I made one for Paige!

It was so easy. (yay for easy!)

All you do is cut three strips, the same length, but each one a little wider. (Using shirts, you may need to piece two strips together to get the right length.)

For Paige's, I made three 55" strips in 3", 4", and 5" widths. The finished length of the scarf is about 35".

Then you lay them on top of each other. largest on bottom, smallest on top, and pin.

Wind your bobbin loosely with elastic thread:

Set your straight stitch to the longest length, and sew two rows, on either side of the middle strip, back-stitching at the beginning and end of each row.

Ruffly!

:o)

I can't believe how quick it was!

You could also skip the elastic thread, and just gather it into a ruffle, the only difference would be that it wouldn't stretch.

I can't wait to find a larger t-shirt to make one for me! I need one in yellow, which has become my favorite color of the moment :o) It feels so springy! To make an adult sized one, I would probably make the strips 4", 6", and 8" wide, and about 65-70" long. But you can adjust it to whatever length you'd like!

87 comments:

What a fantastic idea! I purchased a lightweight fleece scarf similar to the one you made and love the stretchiness due to the elastic cord. Keeps the scarf from coming undone easily. Beautiful work! Hoping my husband has some old band t-shirts I could make one out of!

I stumbled across your blog a while back and it has been mad love ever since. You are such a wonderful mom that I pray I will become one day. It's so nice to see many of your craft and projects relates to your daughter. You are truly inspiring 8)

Fantastic idea!! When you put the bobbin (with the elastic thread) into the machine, do you load it the same way? Meaning, do you hook the elastic thread around the little do-hickie? Does my question make sense? I have tried the elastic thread before, and I don't think I loaded the bobbin right because it didn't gather the fabric. Thanks for any help!!!

Wow Disney, I absolutely love your blog! I've never been a blog reader up until now, and I wish I had found you earlier! I can't believe how creative you are! You've definately inspired me to start being creative and will have my own blog up soon (hopefully, still pretty new to the idea!)

I havent used stretchy thread before. Does it automatically ruffle when you are finished sewing or do you have to ruffle it before finishing the stitch? BTW, I have been readsing your blog for a couple months and it rocks! Always inspiring....

I have never thought of using elastic thread in my bobbin! This is a very cool idea. I had so many old shirts with prints I loved but were worn out and I have just saved them wondering what to do with them. Awesome! Thank you!

hi disney...love this but i wanted to add you some may have to adjust the tension of their bobbin for the elastic thread depending on your machine for it to achieve the right look..just a helpful tip...

I love how you have modified you daughter's clothing. So cute! I have huge box that I as either going to take to Goodwill or Consignment, but I think I might take another look at them. Only thing is I have to boys so....hopefully I can modify to still wearable for them! Thanks for the inspiration.

Disney, I just found your blog a couple of weeks ago and I am in LOVE! You are too cute! I made your scarf the other day and I hope it is ok that I posted a link to you tutitorial on your page? Thanks for being so fun! Tana

I was about to get rid of some T-shirts when I read this post and transformed them into matching scarves for my daughter and me. I didn't have elastic thread so I use the ruffle method. The only problem was that the bottom thread kept breaking. To solve the problem, I basted short sections, back stitched at the end of the section, and ruffled that and that worked awesome. Thanks for another great project!

Jaime, I'm sorry you're not having luck with it! It's tough to know what went wrong without much info, but I do know that some machines deal differently than others with shirring. Here's a post with some more info on shirring, maybe it will help?http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2010/02/shirring-tutorial.html

hi my name is ... I'm 12 and i love these amazing, quick ideas. I am also trying the scarf with different materials like silk and chiffon. i love sewing and have tried to experiment too. I have made really funky skirts and oversized lace tees, I also have fun selling these purses I make (for fun, they aren't that great). Anyway, I look forward to more posts.

tried the 8 inch back piece and it was a bit too wide, i thought. (actually, i had it at 7.5 and still..) also ruffled so much that it became really short, had to unruffle quite a bit. luckily i used "second-string" fabrics!

Feeling stupid today. Do you also use the stretchy thread as the top thread? Seems like a given, but I'm not clear. I really like this idea. It's yet another DUH moment that I am so glad someone showed me!!

omg I LOVE this! I have never used a sewing machine before but I really want to get one and learn because I see so many things I want to try to make! This looks simple enough to use for an easy first time project.

Love your blog and all your tee recon creativity. I am going to use this method to make some ruffles for my superhero tees and dresses. I bought a bunch of elastic thread a year ago and forgot to use it.Thanks for sharing.Laurie Folinohttp://www.etsy.com/shop/GabbyandZack